The aim of these articles is to keep our Clients and Associates updated about developments in the sector of Intellectual Property in general and our firm in particular. In this way, we wish to provide a broader view of the tools that the field of trade marks, domain names, patents, designs and related rights offers to entrepreneurs to enhance and protect their efforts in researching and developing new solutions and ideas.
DesignEuropa Awards 2025: Celebrating Excellence in European Design
A sumptuous award ceremony took place last week 23 September in Copenhagen, in partnership with the Danish Patent and Trademark Office, for the sixth edition of the DesignEuropa Awards 2025, the well-known competition, organised by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), that celebrates excellence in design among holders of Registered European Union Designs.
This year’s competition drew over 1,250 submissions from 48 countries, across categories such as Entrepreneurs and Small Companies (SMEs), Industry, and Next Generation (for designers under 29).
The Lifetime Achievement Award was given to the Dutch designer Hella Jongerius, in recognition of her long-standing and visionary contributions to contemporary design, especially in how she works with materials, craft, color, and integrating cultural narratives.
Finalists represent a mix of emerging and established designers and companies, entrepreneurs like Paul de Livron, Kavčič and Overade, and industry players such as Cecotec, Ciarko Design and Fastned.
The Awards are not just about prestige; they spotlight design as a crucial component of innovation, competitiveness, and visual identity in European industry.
Last week’s celebration of design creation was the first taking place after the recent changes in EU Design law, the so‑called EU Design Protection Package, which has recently entered into force.
The legal changes introduced by the Design Package have modernized, broadened and clarified design protection in ways that can be substantially beneficial, but also complex to navigate.
The Reform substantially consisted of changes seeking to adapt design protection to modern realities (digital, 3D printing, distributed manufacturing, etc.), help designers (especially SMEs and individual creators) by reducing complexity and costs, and balance protection with public interest (repair markets, etc.).
For designers, creative enterprises, and institutions, now more than ever, proactively securing design rights, with good legal advice on the part of local counsels, is not just valuable, it is essential.
Given the evolving legal landscape, for many designers, SMEs, and multinationals operating in the EU, this is a key moment to rethink design protection strategy.
If your clients are looking to file, defend, or review their EU design rights under the updated framework or consider national design protection as an alternative or additional protection, do not hesitate to contact us and we would be very happy to be of help.